Ferguson Cops Deny Beating Shooting Suspect Jeffrey Williams

St. Louis County Police have issued a statement denying allegations that officers beat the man arrested for shooting two police officers during protests in Ferguson, Mo. last week, CNN reports. Officials also said he was seen by a nurse.

Jeffrey Williams, 20, was charged with two counts of first-degree assault, a count of firing a weapon from a vehicle, and three counts of armed criminal activity, notes the report. Police claim that Williams admitted to firing the non-fatal shots that hit officers.

“With regard to the allegations that Jeffrey Williams was ‘beaten’ by police, the St. Louis County Police Department calls these allegations completely false,” Sgt. Brian Schellman said in a statement. “Immediately following the arrest, arresting officers transported Williams to St. Louis County Police Headquarters where he was interviewed by Crimes Against Persons Detectives. This entire interview was video and audio recorded.”

But Williams’ lawyer, Jerryl Christmas, on Monday denied the charges and complained about bruises on his client’s back and head.

“He’s scared. You know, this has been pretty traumatic for him,” attorney Jerryl Christmas said about his client on Monday.

“One thing that is clear is that he has a large amount of bruising on his body that I noticed that I’m very concerned about. It appears that whatever statements he made, he was without the advice of counsel, and when I look at the bruising, it’s hard for me assess if these were voluntary statements that he made.”

St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCullough announced Williams’ arrest and claimed that Williams gave a statement to police saying he was not aiming at them. The case is still under investigation.